Conserving the works of the Van Gogh Museum

In the Studio

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in The Netherlands is one of the most visited museums in the world. It houses the largest collection of works by the hugely popular 19th century Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, as well as many paintings by his contemporaries. All of these pictures need to be looked after and preserved for future generations and in this episode, the BBC’s Karl Bos goes behind the scenes to discover the hidden art of conservation.

Once a painting leaves an artist’s studio, it is at risk of physical damage from poor storage, movement or accident and only becomes more vulnerable as it ages and the materials weaken. You can add to the list of dangers past repairs by well-meaning museum staff that have gone terribly wrong. It’s a hard life being a work of art. We meet Senior Conservator at the Van Gogh Museum, René Boitelle, as he restores a badly damaged painting by Dutch artist Jacob Maris and shows us how Van Gogh’s painting The Furrows, is being cleaned.